To borrow a phrase from Indiana Jones, one might argue that Joe Johnston’s concept art belongs in a museum. An acclaimed filmmaker and Industrial Light & Magic legend, Johnston served as an art director on the original Star Wars trilogy, his designs among those that defined the look of the X-wing, AT-AT walker, and Boba Fett. And he would do the same for Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
But as Johnston tells Lucasfilm.com, Raiders of the Lost Ark director Steven Spielberg chose to display one of his originals in a much more modest location than a museum. “He had a piece of art, I think it was from Raiders, a sketch I did. And he had it framed and he put it over the toilet in the bathroom adjacent to his office. He said, ‘Yeah, I wanna look at that every time I have to go to the bathroom,’” Johnston says, laughing.
Johnston pauses while telling the story over Zoom, and holds up a drawing. It’s another work of concept art from his own stash, this one an exploration of the Temple of Doom airport. “So, I’m gonna give him this,” he says. “He might need some more bathroom art.”